Sindelar completes 'comeback' week with third consecutive 70

When Joey Sindelar's tee shot on the 18th hole Sunday sailed toward the right trees, a collective gasp was uttered throughout the gallery of the local's friends, family and fellow Southern Tier New Yorkers.

But what happened next was no surprise if you believe in hometown karma. The ball stayed clear of any trees and hopped directly left upon hitting the ground, finding the fairway and setting up an approach from inside 150 yards. Sindelar stuck it to inside six feet and rolled in the birdie to post three consecutive 70s and finish the week at six-under, by far his best effort since reconstructing his swing and returning to the tour after back surgery last November.

Sindelar has a proven track record at En-Joie, as a two-time B.C. Open winner who played the course in high school. But considering the way he had played in his last three events (best finish: solo 69th), it seemed as if a few decent rounds would be cause for celebration.

And indeed they were, although with a caveat. Sindelar was all smiles after signing his scorecard as he met with the media, saying that first of all, he was just happy to finish three rounds without feeling an abundance of pain. Secondly, he felt as if he had taken his recovery to the next step - instead of solely focusing on completing play, he was able to also think about his golf swing during the competition. Early in the back nine on Sunday, he thought that maybe he could add a little distance with the driver if he made a small adjustment to his stance. He did, and he found the fairway - with plenty of distance - on four of his last five driving holes.\

Now it's on to Seattle for Sindelar, as he plans to play every full-field event the rest of the year if he can, in hopes of cracking the top 30 and qualifying for the season-ending Charles Schwab Championship. He even joked about getting hot and winning three events as the season winds down, inspired by his perfectly competitive effort this week.

Those three wins may be hard to come by. But it's sure nice to see Joey Sindelar where he belongs - nowhere near the bottom of the leader board.

Notes:

-Playing with Sindelar was Jeff Brehaut, the newly minted 50-year-old who is trying to rack up some high finishes the rest of the way in order to move up in the reshuffle order after Montreal in three weeks, so he doesn't get locked out of the final events, which would force a return to Q School later this fall. Brehaut's effort this week isn't moving him up the money list much - he shot a final-round 71 to finish at 5-under, which will place him in the mid-30s on the leader board - but he did experience a nice turn of fortune as he finished his round.

After driving his ball into the water left of the 18th fairway, Brehaut took a lateral drop and prepared to hit his third shot on the par 4 with a 'little 9-iron,' as his caddie put it after the round. The little 9-iron worked to perfection, as Brehaut's shot took dead aim at the flag and took one hop a foot past the hole before spinning back in for a birdie 3, probably the only occurrence that could elicit a cheer to rival Sindelar's at the home hole.

As Brehaut took in the crowd's appreciation, Sindelar clapped and pointed to his playing partner, drawing even more cheers from the crowd. After Sindelar rolled in his birdie, another cheer was in order, and Brehaut put his arm around Sindelar as the two walked off the green.

Sindelar didn't know that Brehaut wasn't fully exempt on tour at the moment, but he said he has no doubts that Brehaut has plenty of game to compete on the tour. He also said that Brehaut is one of the best guys in the game, and someone that the rest of the tour is surely rooting for.

-Playing the drivable par-4 16th hole, Brehaut drove his tee shot into the front left greenside bunker while Sindelar went right of the green, onto a sprinkler head. As the justifiably pro-Sindelar crowd was viewing the Horseheads native's predicament, Brehaut hit a splendid splash shot to inside 4 feet. As Sindelar called to Brehaut to come over to help with the drop, he said, "Nice shot. That was pretty snazzy. Didn't hear anyone clapping, though."

"That's because we're watching you, Joey," a woman in the crowd called out.

Brehaut didn't mind, though, as he headed back to prepare his birdie try. "Hometown crowd," he said with a smile.

-After completing a mediocre 1-under 71 on Friday, Fred Funk was not in a good mood. He knew he would need a near-miracle to come back and contend in the tournament, and he was, as he put it, in the trees all day off the tee.

But he altered the weights on his adjustable driver after the first round, and he played much better on the weekend, shooting consecutive 67s to finish close to the top ten. A solid weekend for Fred - you can't complain with 10-under - but it also goes to show how the Champions Tour can be a sprint on some of the less challenging courses. You can't fake it on this tour, not for a single round.

Kenny Perry's week showed that as well, as the two-time senior major champion this year opened with a 65 to take the lead, but backpedaled with a Saturday 71. Perry closed with a birdie on 18 on Sunday for a 68 to finish safely inside the top 10 and maintain his lead in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup points race, but with a few more birdies on Saturday, he could have been right in the middle of the Sunday conversation.

Funk also confirmed that his son Taylor, who was home-schooled growing up, will attend the University of Texas starting in January. Taylor will join a star-studded team that will include Gavin Hall, Beau Hossler and Scottie Scheffler (the reigning U.S. Junior champion). Fred said that his son would never consider his alma mater Maryland because it was too far north, and that the decision was all Taylor's.

With Taylor going to school, it means Fred is in the hunt for a new caddie. His wife Sharon only works a couple of times a year, as she did this week, and Fred said he will hire a new guy full-time for the 2014 season. His old full-time caddie, Mark Long, now devotes all his time to working on yardage books that tour players and caddies use, Fred said.

Fred said that Taylor and Sharon both read putts for him when they are on the bag, although he did say that Sharon is harder on him, while Taylor 'just does his own thing.' He said that Sharon serves as a 'sports psychologist' on the bag, as well.

Notes from Day 2 at En-Joie

-Russ Cochran is in good position at 10-under after back-to-back 67s, in a tie for 4th, although he has a way to go to catch Bart Bryant, who is currently 16-under. I asked Cochran his thoughts about the changes to PGA Tour Q school, as he is a veteran of many qualifying tournaments back in his regular tour days. Although he said he doesn't really keep tabs on the specifics anymore, he did say he would like to see the entry fee for the Web.com Tour reduced, to be able to 'give some of the guys a chance to get their career started.' Interesting thoughts from the Paducah, Kentucky native.

-I caught up with Bart's brother Brad after his round. Brad was in good position after the first day with a solid 66, but couldn't get much going en route to a Saturday 72. Brad had no trouble admitting that Bart was the better player in the family at this point, as Brad is getting up there in years (age 58 now) and has not done better than T-32 this year in an individual event.

Brad had all the praise in the world for his brother, talking about how the tour needs more guys like Bart - who understand the importance of developing relationships with communities and interacting with fans. He expressed hope that Bart's wrist can hold up so he can make more of an impact out here on the Champions Tour - he said Bart's talent has been under the radar so far, and the injuries have played a huge role in that. Brad didn't want to commit to staying for the entirety of the final round on Sunday, to potentially see his brother win, but left the door very much open for doing so.

"I've got to talk to my wife," Brad said. "But I don't see why I wouldn't."

Brad was on site for Bart's first PGA Tour victory - the 2004 Valero Texas Open - when he was in the field as well. So it wouldn't be the first, but it would be the first in quite a while.

-Joey Sindelar backed up his opening 2-under 70 with another 70, and enters Sunday in a tie for 31st at 4-under. On the road back to full health after back surgery, Sindelar admitted he was feeling like a golfer again by being disappointed with his Saturday round - where he got to 4-under on the day at one point but fell back with late bogeys. The Horseheads native has lost an estimated 50 pounds since the surgery last November - bringing him down into the 180-190 pound range - saying the need for surgery made him realize he needed to get into better shape.

Sindelar tried to make a quick comeback by playing two Florida events in February, but realized he wasn't near ready yet and took some more time off for rehab until June. This is his fourth event back this time around, after changing his swing to accommodate his new health situation, and so far he is faring the best by far - he went 79, MC, T-69 in his first three events back. Even if he plays poorly in the final round, he should easily finish inside the top 60.

"It's fun to see that it's definitely been a step forward each of the weeks I've been able to play," Sindelar said. "Certainly there can't be as big a leap as I had the first few weeks, because I started from way, way back. This is what we've been hoping for, and I'm very happy."

Sindelar played with former college teammate and road roommate John Cook on Friday, and Cook said he could tell his friend's game was getting back in shape because 'he was smiling again.' A smiling Sindelar is good for the Champions Tour, and even if he falters on Sunday, the home crowd is sure to keep him in good spirits as he makes the walk up 18.

-Jeff Brehaut played a bogey-free second round, but couldn't quite keep the pedal to the metal enough to make a serious move. Starting the day six back of overnight leader Kenny Perry, Brehaut shot 3-under 69 to fall 12 back of Bart Bryant.

The win won't be on Brehaut's mind in the final round, but he will be fully invested to make as much money as he can. After waiting until his 50th birthday in June to start playing, Brehaut has a limited amount of tournaments to make the required money to crack the top 30 on the money list and keep his card for next season. So far he has two top 25s in three events, with his best effort a T-19 two weeks ago in Minnesota, but that is obviously nowhere near enough - he is currently 89th on the money list.

Making matters worse for the Pacific University grad is that the tour conducts its only reshuffle of the year after the Montreal Championship - three events from now - and he may be shuffled right out of the year-ending tournaments if he doesn't play better (not that he has been playing badly at all). He figures he needs a few top-ten finishes - at least - but feels he has the talent to win if he can put it all together.

He didn't need to look far for inspiration on Saturday, either. Brehaut was paired with Michael Allen, a guy who had a similar career trajectory in his regular-tour days - a fair bit of success without winning. Allen won his first Champions Tour event when he turned 50, the 2009 Senior PGA Championship at Canterbury outside Cleveland, and he has played well ever since, currently No. 6 on the money list.

If Allen can do it, Brehaut seemingly can do it, but life on tour can be all about timing - and unfortunately for Brehaut, his year has been short on time.

-After being visibly upset with his opening-round 71 on Friday, Fred Funk picked up the pace with a 5-under 67 on Saturday to move into a tie for 17th. Funk knew he was behind the 8-ball after his unspectacular start, however, feeling that he needed to put low rounds together if he was going to have a chance - and if nobody ran away with it.

But Bart Bryant has seemingly ran away with it, and a ten-shot comeback isn't in the cards where surely some of the second-round leaders will again go low on Sunday. With wife Sharon on the bag - only of one two times all year she works as caddie, she said - he will simply be working on his game and hoping to thrill the fans with some quality shots. He is working, too - seen walking from the practice area to the locker room more than two hours after he completed his second round, patting Duffy Waldorf on the back on the way.

Despite not being in contention, Funk had some fun with the crowd on Saturday. Paired with the popular Jim Thorpe, Funk watched his tee shot roll up a ride on the par-3 fourth. Recognizing the presence of the ridge, he called for the ball to roll back down near the hole. After a few seconds, it did, to within ten feet.

"It must be a male ball," Funk said, looking back in his wife's direction. "Because it will listen to you."

Seconds later, Thorpe watched his ball do the exact same thing, rolling down the ridge and to within five feet. And Thorpe's thoughts were in sync with his playing companion.

"Male ball," Thorpe said. "It listened."

Sharon simply smiled and shook her head.

Bryant takes command at En-Joie

Oh, what could have been for Bart Bryant. The newly minted Champions Tour player has battled a plethora of injuries throughout his career - so many that he claims he could pass an anatomy test despite minimal formal education on the matter - but managed to win three times on the PGA Tour along the way. The guy clearly has game, and it's a shame that he never got a chance to put it on full display to the world.

"He's world-class," his brother Brad, who plays the Champions Tour as well, said.

Bart turned 50 last November and as was allowed to play the 50-and-over circuit this year without needing to work his way through Q school, based on his position on the all-time PGA Tour money list. He hadn't contended too much prior to this week, but came to Binghamton with positive vibes after a T-4 in Minnesota two weeks ago.

Now, he's in his position for his first Champions Tour win. Bart fired a bogey-free 10-under 62 on Saturday at En-Joie GC, boosted by six birdies in his first seven holes, to surge to the top of the leader board and take a four-stroke lead over Corey Pavin (who fired a not-so-shabby Saturday 64 himself) into Sunday.

Bart's round was highlighted by his self-described shot of the tournament on the 203-yard par-3 14th, a tricky hole that features a pond on the left side of the green. With the pin tucked on the back left portion of the putting surface, he fired a 4-iron that landed softly and trickled within six feet of the hole. The birdie gave him even more of a cushion than he already had, and he was off to the races.

"I played real solid today," Bart said. "Hit a lot of solid golf shots...I really haven't had an opportunity to make a bogey, I don't think. I just kept myself in position and kept myself out of trouble."

With one round to play, Bart said he feels like the winning score will be 19- or 20-under, even if it's not him - even though nobody besides him is better than 12-under. It may be a stretch, but not too much so. En-Joie is there for the taking for these guys, with fairly little wind and fairways that run out, making the score play shorter than its already-modest distance. Driver-wedge is the common recipe on many of the par 4s, and the par-5 third and 12th holes have been reachable for the majority of the field - especially the 12th today, where the tee was even moved up. It's not impossible for Pavin to shoot another 64 or 65, so maybe the prediction will indeed hold water.

With Tim McGraw's tour bus long down the road and the country boots nowhere to be found on the grounds Saturday, the event still drew a sizable crowd, due in part to its tradition of free admission on Saturday afternoons. Areas near the green were crowded as early as 11 a.m., with play having started before 9 a.m. off No. 1 tee, and the event had the legitimate feel of a mid-sized regular tour event. Sunday's admission is $25, so the crowds not be the same, but they should be close - the area sure does embrace this tournament.

Bart has a four-shot lead, and it's easy to say it's his event to lose, but he still needs to play a solid round of golf. One or two-under isn't necessarily bad, but that may not get it done if some of the chasers do what's been done again and again this week - pile birdies on top of birdies.

But of course, a four-shot lead is a four-shot lead. Bart is in position A to grab his first Champions Tour title.

Perry leads after solid 65 at En-Joie

You would think Kenny Perry would just go back to the PGA Tour already, and leave his 50-and-over compatriots alone.

Perry has flat-out blitzed the Champions Tour this summer, winning back-to-back majors with unheard-of low weekends and utilizing his young-man's power to his full advantage. The Kentuckian always has admitted he's a streaky player, but this summer there has been no streak to it. It has just been, well, incredible. The train kept rolling on Friday at En-Joie GC near Binghamton, NY, where Perry shot 7-under 65 to take the solo lead over a host of players bunched at 6, 5 and 4-under par.

"I just played nicely," Perry said. "I hit a lot of fairways; my wedge game was beautiful...When things are going your way, things go your way, so it was just a nice day."

Indeed it was. Cruising along, as he put it, at 3-under par through 11 holes, Perry hit his tee shot sideways on the reachable par-5 12th and had to chop out. All he did from there was hole a 6-iron from just under 190 yards to jump up near the top of the leader board at 5-under, and from there it was just the status quo.

Many of the low scores came in the morning, when the greens ran true and hadn't dried out yet. Perry played in the very last group of the day (everyone played of No. 1 tee, unlike most Champions Tour events that utilize a split-tee system) yet handled the conditions perfectly while big names like Fred Funk (71), Bernhard Langer (73) and defending champion Willie Wood (77) stumbled in the late-day trickiness. Of course, however, Perry will deal with more of the same tomorrow. As the leader, he tees off in the final group, with Bart Bryant and Joel Edwards at 1:31 p.m. The weather looks perfect.

When Kenny Perry is on fire, he is tough to beat on the PGA Tour - let alone on the Champions Tour, on a course that provides an abundance of wedges into greens for the longer hitters. He's out in front, and it would be unwise to bet against him. Heck, 65 could be his worst score this week.

Notes:

-Hometown favorite Joey Sindelar, a Horseheads High graduate, shot 2-under 70 as he works his way back from early-year back surgery. Talking to assembled media after his round, Sindelar seemed incredibly happy as he discussed his comeback from the surgery, in which he said he needs to bridge the gap between his competitive mind and the reality that he can't yet swing like he used to. The jovial guy capped off his round by rolling in a 6-footer for birdie on 18, which elicited a huge roar from the massive crowd that arrived early for the Tim McGraw concert just off the 18th green. Writing this from the media center, you can hear the crowd's anticipation building for McGraw. Multiple reporters have described the event as the 'concert of the summer' in the area.

-Jeff Brehaut shot 1-under 71 in his fourth Champions Tour start of the year, as the recently-turned 50-year-old attempts to battle long odds and make enough money in a shortened season to crack the top 30 on the money list and avoid a return trip to Q School. Brehaut finished joint 23rd and 19th in his last two events after a disappointing opening effort in Chicago in late June, and he will enter Saturday tied for 33rd. He's currently 89th on the money list and will need a string of top-10s and maybe even top-5s as the season winds down, and his ball-striking looked solid but not exceptional today. So we'll see.

-Fred Funk was not too happy with his 71. As he briefly spoke to me after his round, he mentioned that he needed to get to the range to work on a couple things, as it was already past 5:30 pm and the range closed at 6:00. Especially considering the amount of success he has had an En-Joie (four top-2 finishes, including a win, between the PGA and Champions Tours), his place six shots back with two rounds to play is not ideal. He told me he is 'behind the 8-ball' heading into tomorrow and that he needs to go 'really low' on Saturday and Sunday. His round could have been better (he missed a few makeable birdie putts and had at least one three-putt), but could have been worse: he salvaged a bogey after finding the water on the par-3 14th, and spun a wedge to inside six inches for a kick-in birdie on the short par-4 16th.

At the rate Perry's going, nobody else may have a chance, but even without Perry the winning score will likely be in the 14- to 16-under range. That means a couple 65s for Funk on the weekend, something he hasn't came close to since last year's Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

-The scoring average for the first round was 71.512. Hole 15, a par 4, played as the toughest (4.387) while the par-5 third played as the easiest (4.688).

Live from Endicott

Here we are. I woke up this morning at 5 a.m., through no credit of my own. (Nick Dauch, who I stayed with the last two nights, woke up to my alarm and proceeded to wake me up). I drove straight through to Endicott to make it in time for the opening tee shot, thinking I would need to stop and sleep at a rest area, but fighting on. Last summer's experiences of driving through the night definitely were beneficial.

So I arrived at media parking, got a very convenient shuttle ride to the course and exchanged my one-day paper pass for credentials. I greeted the tournament staff as well as the Tour's Phil Stambaugh, who remembered me after a bit of reminding. No lavish media buffet like you would see on the PGA Tour, but you won't find me complaining with some great Dunkin Donuts.

I strolled out on the course to see the opening tee shot by Sonny Skinner, who pulled it into the left rough but saved his par on No. 1. Not a huge crowd this early in the morning, but it's sure to pick up this afternoon, especially as the Tim McGraw concert on the 18th green draws closer. It will be interesting to see how the crowd demographics shift as evening comes.

We were also rather lucky to get play underway, as an area of fog passed through around 8 a.m. and it was hard to see for awhile. But just as soon as it came, it went - the sun came up, and the first group was off at 8:45 as scheduled.

As I write this, I am incredibly tired, but it should be a good day.

Dick's Sporting Goods Open to mark 1000th Champions Tour event

I'm headed to Binghamton, NY to cover the Dick's Sporting Goods Open this weekend for Golf World, and I couldn't be more thrilled. For one thing, it marks my opportunity to interview Fred Funk (my hero growing up, and a huge influence on the career path that I have tried to embark on) . For another, it marks the first time I get to actually cover an event for a real magazine, where I file stories for national print and digital publication. After my summer on the road following the Web.com Tour last summer, filing stories for my loyal readers on this blog (who I am very grateful for!), this gives me the chance to take my experience to a whole new level.

Now, to be sure, it's not as if I've been asked to write any big feature or exclusive on event. I will write a simple, short game story of the event and a news item on a player or interesting occurrence for Ryan Herrington's Tour Talk section of the magazine, along with one or two short items on the event (likely related to the winner) for Tim Murphy's Golf World Monday. It may not be much, but it's definitely something, and I am just genuinely excited to report on a Champions Tour event - especially the one at En-Joie GC outside Binghamton, which I attended many times over the years with my dad, grandparents, brothers and friends. It's a great course to spectate at, any easy course to walk, and the community always seems to enjoy having the pros in town.

Another cool milestone I'll be a part of: the event marks the 1,000th official event on the Champions Tour. The 50-and-older tour started in the early 1980s and has trucked along for over 30 years, giving older fans the chance to see the heroes of their youth in a competitive setting for a few extra years, along with of course giving the top players a chance to grow their bank accounts with a few good (or great) years of play. I look forward to seeing whether the Tour or the community has anything in store to celebrate the noteworthy milestone.

Although I'll be writing for Golf World, I certainly plan on upholding my tradition of covering the event via this blog, as I do whenever I am lucky enough to have media credentials for an event. Tee times have still not been released yet, but play should get underway sometime Friday morning. Coverage will be tape-delayed on Golf Channel, so television-related accommodations will not play a role on the weekend - when tee times are sometimes moved up so play can finish inside Golf Channel's 1-3 pm (or so) window. Therefore, expect a proper late-afternoon finish on Saturday and Sunday, as, of course, it should be.

Also pretty sure that Phil Stambaugh will be running things media-wise from the Tour's side, so it will be cool to catch up with him again, after meeting him last year at the Web.com event in Wichita. Not sure I'm staying yet, but I always enjoy the Del Motel (I have stayed there in the past) and will likely end up there come Friday evening.

All in all, it will be a great way to wrap up my official time at Golf World. En-Joie, here I come.

And, in the end...

"This is the last time."

Lyrics from a great Keane song that I can't seem to get out of my head. My roommate Galen played that song for me on the last night before I left Syracuse in May, shortly after graduation, and the same feelings apply now. Part nostalgia, part sadness, part wonder about the crazy ways that life can work.

Today is my last day at Golf World magazine, as I complete a ten-week internship that has taken me behind the scenes of how a worldwide, well-respected weekly golf publication operates. For the last week and a half or so, in fact, I have literally lived at the office - I moved out of my dorm at Sacred Heart University on August 2, filled my car and proceeded to sleep on editor-in-chief Jaime Diaz' couch for eight nights. I hadn't been sure what I was going to do - realistic thoughts of sleeping in my car were running through my head - but my boss Tim Murphy told me I could stay in Jaime's office, and I quickly accepted the kind offer.

Anyway, so here I am, wrapping up. I will be heading to Hackettstown, NJ tonight to stay with longtime college roommate Nick Dauch for a couple nights before traveling up to Binghamton to cover the Dick's Sporting Goods Open for my final Golf World assignment - my final assignment before I go, as Tom Petty would say, into the great wide open.

I started at golf World not knowing what to expect, but knowing it was bound to be an awesome and surreal experience. Needless to say, it lived up to the hype, and then some. I have been reading the magazine since I was probably 12 years old, as my family had a subscription for years, and when we didn't, I could read at it Bob-o-Link, my home course where I worked for three summers. I contacted the magazine in fall 2011, when I was abroad in London, about the possibility of interning there the following summer. Long shot, to be sure - it's a national publication, after all - but I figured I would give it a shot. I was honored just to have the opportunity to interview, and when I was told they were bringing back the previous summer's intern, I was mildly disappointed - but not hurt or surprised.

So I pushed on. The next fall, in my senior year, I threw myself a slight curveball in terms of life planning by following up with Tim at Golf World, to see if I would possibly be able to intern the next summer - after my senior year. Surely a questionable move (who interns after they graduate college?) and one that could set me up for second-guessing later on, but this is what I figured: I had at least made contact with the company, and they knew I had interest. I have spent my whole college life gearing my activities and endeavors toward the chance to work here, at my dream job. I'm probably as close as I'll ever be. So why not?

I was offered the internship, and I accepted. Luckily for me, my family and friends were supportive of the decision, even when I was offered a job at a small paper in Syracuse - where I would absolutely love to live - and declined. The journalism market is tough, and I was taking the very real risk that I was missing my best opportunity to get into journalism young and fresh. But after weighing my options - and probably annoying some of my friends with endless discussions - I decided to stick with Tim at Golf World.

So I came, and I got to dive right into the editorial process - reading and re-reading copy for our print and digital publications and helping make sure the copy was clean, clear and compelling for our paying subscribers. Along the way, I dabbled in fact-checking, archiving material and research. And most importantly for me, I got to write - for both the physical print edition and the digital 'Golf World Monday.' Opening the magazine and seeing my name in print - now three weeks running, with a fourth to come after my Champions Tour coverage in Binghamton - gives me a sensation of immense pride, happiness and hope. It makes the risk totally worth it.

In addition to the enjoyment of playing a part in the production of a golf magazine, the experience was made even better by the staff, who quickly welcomed me into their tight circle and made me feel like one of their own. This is the best of the best in the business I hope to break into someday - Jaime Diaz, Bill Fields, Mike Johnson and so on - and sometimes I had to pinch myself to believe I was actually working with them. Tim Murphy took me to play golf at his club, New Haven Country Club, as did Tim Carr (Rock Ridge in Newtown) where we played twice and I improved by 12 shots the second time (97-85). Free lavish dinners on Monday major closes were a welcome reward, and the 'lunch train' with senior staff on many non-busy work days (where we all ate together) was always a pleasure.

So that's that, and I'm writing this as Lisa (the staff assistant/all-purpose researcher/fact-checker/party-planner/office mom) is preparing for a little going-away celebration for me, as I reflect on my quick but perfect stay at Golf World.

Where next? I interviewed last week for a position at a small paper in central new York, and I knew I was one of four candidates, but I still haven't heard back yet which means I'm likely an alternate for the position - in the classic space between the known and the unknown. I am in consideration for a short week-long internship via the Tiger Woods Foundation at a FedExCup Playoff event in Boston later this month, which would be an interesting opportunity (it's in the finance division), but it would again be delaying the inevitable - the fact that I'm about to be unemployed. Ugh!

So I'm trying. That's all I can do for now. Applying to a lot of places, hearing back from a few, getting interviews at even less - but trying. That's the nature of the beast these days: a lot of people want to be sports writers, and there aren't many openings. I'll try for a little bit longer, but I can't try forever.

But even if it doesn't work out, I can always say I worked at Golf World, and I can always proudly display the clips I was lucky enough to get in the magazine.

And at the very least, I'll always have Wilton.

Gove's last stand

After a disappointing 2012 season on the Web.com Tour, Jeff Gove showed why golf is one of the craziest entities on the planet with a shocking run through the last edition of PGA Tour Q-school. The Pepperdine grad played four solid rounds in second stage to advance to the finals, and then put together six consecutive under-par rounds to finish T-10 and earn a PGA Tour card for 2013, at age 41.

Alas, Gove's 2012 Web.com struggles continued forward to the big leagues. When that's the case, good results cannot be expected, and Gove's tournament log for the season thereby provides no surprises. In 15 events, Gove has missed 12 cuts and had failed to crack the top 45 in an event until this past week in Toronto, where an impressive Saturday back-nine comeback ultimately resulted in a T-40 finish and a check for $22,400. Before that, his biggest payday of the year was $16,580.57. Fine, but not too good when you're flying back and forth across the country most weeks.

In past years, the PGA Tour season was set up to allow the previous year's Q-School grads a chance to play throughout the entire calendar year, with tournaments throughout the fall and into November. With this year's removal of Q-School and radical altering of the PGA Tour qualifying process, everything has changed. The traditional December Q-School will now simply provide Web.com Tour cards, meaning newcomers have no direct access to the PGA Tour.

Replacing Q-School is the Web.com Tour Finals, a four-tournament series that brings together Nos. 1-75 on the Web.com money list with Nos. 126-200 on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup points list (Web.com Nos. 1-25 will have already received PGA Tour cards, but can play to improve their position for next season). 25 remaining Tour cards will be given to the top cumulative money earners in the four-event series, with the new PGA Tour season (2013-14) commencing on October 10 at the Frys.com Open.

So how does Jeff Gove factor into this, and how is this week his last stand? After his merciful T-40 at the Canadian Open, he has moved from No. 219 to No. 203 in the FedEx Cup standings. Pretty much on the bubble. The problem for Gove, however, is that the season is slipping away and his time is running out. Because of his poor play, he has moved down the reshuffle and is no lock for entry into the Wyndham Championship, the final full-field PGA Tour event of the season to be played the week after the PGA (and obviously, he is not in the PGA). Therefore, this week's Reno-Tahoe Open is likely his final opportunity to move into the top 200 and enter the Web.com Finals series. Many variables are in play, but this would possibly require another top-40 finish. At the very least, of course, he has to make the cut.

And if he doesn't make it, it's an even longer road back to the PGA Tour.

Uresti's dream of making cut falls short

Everyone knows that golf is a cruel game, even for the professionals, where a promising season can fall to pieces over a few bad rounds on Thursdays and Fridays. When the bogey train sustains itself for weeks and into months, it can affect a whole career.

As is the case for Omar Uresti, longtime touring pro who saw his game fall into disarray near the end of the season on the Web.com Tour. A T-12 at April's Soboba Golf Classic was his last top-25 of 2012, and a myriad of missed cuts and early Sunday starting times filled the remainder of Uresti's season, where he finished No. 109 on the money list and lost his status. Without a place to play for 2013, it was a sudden and profound fall.

This week's Sanderson farms Championship on the PGA Tour provides a respite for some of these woebegone veterans who have lost their games in recent years, thanks to its slot opposite the British Open. With many of the PGA Tour's leading talents overseas at Muirfield, the Sanderson Farms field in Jackson, MS traditionally opens up to those in the depths of the PGA Tour's priority ranking system, such as veteran members and past champions. Although Uresti never secured a victory on Tour (his high finish was 3rd), he qualifies as a veteran member by making at least 150 career PGA Tour cuts, a figure he reached at the 2008 Reno-Tahoe Open. This week, his number was called.

So Uresti embarked on an opportunity to make some PGA Tour money this week, ironic considering his lack of status on the Web.com Tour. After a first-round 73 in benign conditions at Annandale CC (derailed by a bogey-double bogey-bogey stretch midway through his round), and with a projected cut of 3-under par, it looked like Uresti would go gently into golf's good night - waiting until maybe next year in Mississippi, where his name will likely be called again.

After finishing nine holes in even-par in a second round that started Friday night and lasted into Saturday morning, there was no reason to think otherwise. But somewhere along the way, as Uresti prepared to begin his second nine a distant four strokes outside the cut line (at 1-over for the event), something clicked. The proud Texan rolled in a 14-footer for birdie on the par-5 11th, then made a string of solid pars on holes 12 thru 15, one of the rare semi-tough stretches at Annandale.

Knowing he needed three birdies in his last three holes to make the cut, Uresti then gave it all he had. He knocked his approach on 16 to six feet for a birdie, then stiffed one over water to inside two feet on 17. Another birdie. Three under on the round and two under for the week, Uresti had a simple task ahead if he wished to play the weekend: birdie the 532-yard, par-5 18th.

Uresti knocked a solid drive up the fairway, then laid up to inside 70 yards. For a seasoned veteran, a 69-yard shot in Annandale's soft conditions is nothing to be afraid of. It wasn't. He knocked it inside four feet - three feet, eight inches, to be exact.

But the man's career has been derailed by the flatstick, and Saturday morning proved no different. Uresti missed the putt, and he missed the cut by a sole stroke.

For a player with no tournament-level seasoning this year, missing the cut by a shot is nothing to be ashamed of. And besides, even if he had made the cut, he would've needed a top-10 finish if he wished to continue playing into next week's RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey GC outside Toronto, a venue where he finished T-22 in 2008 propelled by a Sunday 68.

However, making the cut could have been a shot in the arm for the 44-year-old, a chance to play two more rounds of tournament golf in a career that appears to be on its last legs. With a direct path to the PGA Tour for non-exempt players no longer in existence, Uresti's best hopes of playing full-time next year involve making it through this December's Web.com Tour qualifying tournament. From there, he would have to earn his way into the big leagues for the 2014-15 season.

Walking up to the 18th green as he finished his second round, the chance was there. It's too bad his putter did what it always did, time and again, throughout a 20-plus year career.

Johnson gets another chance in Utah

After Kevin Johnson made a late bogey on Friday to miss the cut by a stroke at June's Rex Hospital Open, it appeared questionable whether he would get another chance to play in 2013. The stumble marked the six-time Web.com Tour winner's fourth consecutive missed cut, after he opened the season with a T-37 showing in Brazil. As of Sunday afternoon, he was slotted as fourth alternate for this week's event in Utah.

But sure enough, a string of withdrawals ensued - like is usually the case on the Web.com circuit, as a trickle-down effect comes from withdrawals on the PGA Tour that move players up into those fields - and Johnson entered the field for the Utah Championship on Monday afternoon. With the omnipresent chance of playing one's way into next week with a top-25 showing, the Clemson grad again has an opportunity to put together a string of good weeks that can move him into the top 75 on the money list by mid-August. That would give him a chance to play the inaugural 'Web.com playoffs' series that combines No. 126-200 on the PGA Tour tour money list with Nos. 1-75 on the Web.com list, where the top 25 cumulative money winners over the four weeks will receive PGA Tour cards for the 2013-14 season. (Note: Nos. 1-25 on the Web.com Tour will already have earned status, and some of them may play to improve their position. They will not count toward the 25 cards earned during the playoff series.)

So here comes Kevin Johnson, running out of chances, with one more chance - a chance that may be his last. He missed the cut last year in Utah with rounds of 68-74, and turned in seven missed cuts and a withdrawal in his eight previous starts there.

Judging by those numbers, it would seem that the par-71, 7,104-yard Willow Creek CC track in Sandy, UT would not suit his eye. We'll see if desperation proves the antidote come the weekend.

Short 15th no picnic on Saturday

The 15th hole at TPC River Highlands measures 296 yards. Sounds like one of those mid-length par-3's at Merion? Well, it's a par-4 at this week's Travelers Championship, seemingly a hole where players can make up a shot lost at the one of the course's tricky par-4's.

Keegan Bradley begged to differ in a pre-tournament press conference, saying most players would be happy to take all 4's on the hole over the course of the week. The sentiment seemed mildly outrageous on Wednesday, but now? Not far-fetched at all.

With a treacherous hole location near the front right corner of the green, player after player found trouble at the 15th during Saturday's third round. First it was David Branshaw earlier in the day - who drove the ball right of the fairway, took an unplayable lie, and saw his par chip roll back down near his feet en route to a double-bogey 6. He had to earn the double, too, making an 8-footer.

It didn't get much easier as the leaders came through. Of the top 13 players on the leaderboard, only two made birdie and three made bogey. Not what you would expect on a driveable par 4. One of the three bogeys came by way of Bubba Watson, who made his 5 as part of a 3-over back nine that left a bitter taste in his mouth post-round.

"Well, if you look at the pin, it's a real dicey pin, close to being illegal," Watson said. "It's a hump back there. So on a short hole like that, you've got to have, I don't know if you call it tricky or goofy pins, but that's what you have to have. So we know going in that's going to be very difficult. I hit my tee shot right where I wanted to, and then for me it was very difficult after that."

Indeed, Watson's drive landed in the fairway just 15 yards from the hole, before his chip shot landed on the green, lost speed and rolled back off.

Justin Rose also struggled on the hole, pulling his drive into water left of the green and failing to get up and down - leading to a bogey. When asked about the hole after the round, Rose remained diplomatic, noting the awkward yardage he faces when sizing up his strategy for the hole.

If the setup crew decides to use a similar hole location for Sunday's round, look for more of the same - the hole playing as anything but an easy birdie opportunity for players coming down the stretch.

DeLaet carries the Canadian torch into Sunday

When rising star Graham DeLaet holed a 15-footer from the fringe for birdie on 18 on Saturday, it appeared that the putt's significance was simply to put the Canadian in a better position for Sunday. It certainly didn't appear that it would give him a share of the lead.

But Bubba Watson's struggles down the stretch brought a host of players back into the fold, and DeLaet finds himself sharing the lead heading into Sunday with Watson and Charley Hoffman. DeLaet will be in the final group, and Watson will not.

Quite a turn of events.

DeLaet started the day five shots back of Watson but rose into contention with four consecutive birdies between holes 10 and 13, moving from 6-under par to 10-under and right in the thick of the hunt. He missed a short par putt on the par-3 16th but responded with the birdie on 18 to post a 65, sharing round-of-the-day honors with Ken Duke.

"I did play well pretty much all day," DeLaet said. "I had a lot of good birdie chances on the front nine, just couldn't really seem to find the hole, and Julian, my caddie, just told me to stay patient because I was rolling it well. I got off to a nice little start on the back side, and that kind of settled the nerves a little bit and kind of got me going."

Although he is still searching for his first win on the PGA Tour, DeLaet has proven himself through a string of high finishes the past few years. He has eight top-25 finishes in 16 PGA Tour starts to date in 2013, along with a tie for 5th at last year's Barclays, the first FedEx Cup event.

With a high finish tomorrow, DeLaet could thrust himself into the thick of contention for this year's Presidents Cup team. The event pits 12 Americans against 12 non-European players from the rest of the world, and will take place at Muirfield Village Golf Club just outside of Columbus.

Nick Price will serve as International captain this year, and DeLaet said he was inspired to make the team after Price called a meeting of potential team members at May's Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.

"Absolutely; it was one of my goals starting the year," DeLaet said. "I was definitely on the outside looking in, but Nick Price held a meeting for potential team members on Memorial Tuesday, and Adam Scott poured his heart out that night, and it was super inspiring. Ever since then, I've wanted to be on that team...I'm doing everything that I can to try to make that team."

With a good Sunday, that goal becomes ever more realistic.

Notes: -DeLaet's caddy Julian makes an effort to wear a hat representing a local sports team at each event, and this week Julian went throwback. Julian went with the Hartford Whalers this week, a now-defunct NHL team that moved to Carolina in the mid-1990s.

So far, so good with the crowd response, DeLaet said.

"We were just talking about it, walking up 18, that he's got more 'Go, Whalers' cheers like that than we've had all year," DeLaet said. "So it's been a lot of fun. We enjoy it, and he has a lot of fun with it, too, and he has a pretty nice hat collection now as well."

-Being a Canadian player, DeLaet takes a lot of pride in his home country. Led by Mike Weir in the early 2000s, Canadians have carved out an increased presence on Tour in recent years, and DeLaet said that the group makes sure to root for each other and stay supportive.

Just like anything in Canada, we take pride in our athletics," DeLaet said. "Whatever it may be, anyone who's excelling at anything, whether it be business or sports. And same thing out here, we all stick together with Mike and Stephen and David. David is one of my best friends, and Fritzy (Brad Fritsch) is having a nice year as well as a rookie. On the PGA Tour leaderboards I have them all colored, so I know exactly where they are all the time, and we're definitely rooting for each other every round."

No Canadian native has won on Tour since Mike Weir in 2007, and DeLaet will surely receive an outpouring of support from his home country if he can close the deal on Sunday.

Desperate Herman moves into contention on Saturday

After completing a 3-under 67 on Friday to ensure that he would be around for the weekend, Jim Herman made no attempt to dance around the fact that he needed to start playing better. Currently 193rd in the FedEx Cup standings, Herman needs a string of good finishes in the next few weeks if he hopes to keep his card for next year without having to go through qualifying.

"I'm not even in a position yet where I can even think about it," Herman said on Friday of the prospects of re-earning his card. "Just gotta go out there and play as well as we can."

Entering Saturday in a tie for 24th, Herman took advantage of more benign early conditions and posted a 4-under 31 on the front nine en route to a 3-under 67. Although Herman made a sloppy bogey on 18 from less than 100 yards away on his approach, the effort leaves him in a tie for 7th, only three shots back of a trio at players at 10-under.

Herman was one of many players who remained in contention thanks to Watson's sloppy play at the end of the round. If Watson had managed to play even-par golf from 13 in, Herman and the rest of the 7-under contingent would be looking at a six-stroke deficit. Instead, the margin is three, bringing players like Herman, Nicholas Thompson, and local favorite J.J. Henry into the fray.

It has been a struggle this year for the 35-year-old Herman, who qualified off the 2012 Web.com Tour money list by the skin of his teeth after finishing No. 25 on the money list. The Cincinnati native started the 2012 season well but missed four of five cuts before the Tour championship and was nearly bumped out of the top-25 position needed to earn a PGA Tour card.

He held on to earn his place in the big leagues, but the struggles have continued, and Herman has made only 4 of 12 cuts this year with a high finish of T39 at the Puerto Rico Open. But he has made his last three cuts, including last week where he tied for 67th at Merion, and this week's showing has certainly been a positive sign.

"I'm playing well right now," Herman said. "So I just have to keep it up and see where it takes me."

If he does on Sunday, he may find himself in a much better financial position come Monday. Herman will tee off at 1:20 p.m.

Duke ties round of day with 65, finds himself two back

After completing an impressive bogey-free 65 on a windy and dry Saturday at TPC River Highlands, Ken Duke was asked if he would be monitoring the scores over the course of the afternoon. At the time, Watson was 13-under for the week and had a commanding four-stroke lead over the field, and was five ahead of Duke.

"I've seen Bubba before," Duke said. "I know what he does. I gotta leave tomorrow night, so I'll probably do laundry and do whatever I gotta do. I doubt I'll watch any today."

If he had watched, he would've seen the 2012 Masters champion struggle down the stretch as the conditions toughened, bogeying three of his last seven holes en route to an even-par 70. That leaves Watson tied for the lead at 10-under with Graham DeLaet and Charley Hoffman, which means Duke (currently alone in 6th place) is only two strokes back heading into Sunday.

Duke has never won before on the PGA Tour, but has won twice on the Web.com Tour and finished second three times on the PGA Tour. Last February, the veteran from Arkansas played in the final group on Sunday at Pebble Beach but ultimately faded to a 74 and finished T7.

This year, Duke has played solid but unspectacular golf, making 8 of 18 cuts with four top-25 finishes, and currently 95th in the FedEx Cup standings with over $500,000 in earnings. Happy with the way he is hitting the ball this week, Duke anticipates not needing to work too hard on his game as he prepares for Sunday.

"My ball striking is doing good," Duke said. "My driving, I drove it great the last two days. That's what I needed to do after the first day, and that's what I've done. I thought I could get like three or four more (birdies), but I'll take what I have, and it's always good to move up on Saturday."

Duke teed off on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., nearly two and a half hours before the leaders, and took advantage before the conditions toughened - of the final six pairings, only two players managed to break par.

He won't have that luxury on Sunday, playing in the third-to-last group with Nick O'Hern.

"These greens are firming up," Duke said. "We've had some great weather here, and they're a little crusty. So it's gotta be perfect out there...But I'll take today and go into tomorrow."

Branshaw takes steps back in Saturday pairing with Vijay

From the first tee onward, David Branshaw appeared to have an enjoyable time in his pairing with Vijay Singh on Saturday morning at TPC River Highlands. The two shared many laughs and chatted as they made their way through the fairways and greens, despite the struggles they both faced throughout the day.

Although Vijay is obviously a fan favorite with over 30 PGA Tour titles and three major victories to his credit, Branshaw enjoyed a crowd that rivaled Vijay's in size. A couple dozen friends and relatives made the trip down from Branshaw's native area of Central New York, raucously cheering whenever their favorite son saw success, notably with a hole-out from 40 feet for bogey on the 1st and a 25-footer for birdie on No. 2.

But after Branshaw rolled in a 6-footer for birdie on the 3rd, he wasn't able to give his crowd much to cheer about. Although Branshaw hit shot after shot near the flagstick, his early putting luck ran dry quickly. The now-Tampa resident left himself birdie putts inside 10 feet five times in a seven-hole stretch from hole 7 thru hole 13, but amazingly couldn't get one of them to fall.

"I wish I could putt for him," friend Ned, who made the short drive from Boston to support Branshaw, said. "I really do."

Ned said he grew up playing golf with Branshaw every day in summers, and that the two moved together to Florida after high school, a move that allowed Branshaw to work on his game year-round. Although Ned has praised Branshaw's mid-iron game throughout the week, he continued to reference the fact that his friend simply cannot putt - wishing that he would divert some of his long-game focus onto the greens.

Putting struggles aside, Branshaw moved tho the 15th tee at 1-under on his round after rolling in a 6-footer for birdie on the par-4 14th. From there, though, things started to come undone - he drove the ball well right on the short 15th and had to take an unplayable lie, leading to a double, and bogeyed the 18th after clipping a tree left of the fairway on his drive. The result was a 72 that easily could have been a 65.

"Story of his career," Ned said. "Shoots a 73, could have been a 65."

At the very least, Branshaw will make the Saturday cut - just barely - and will have a chance for some redemption on Sunday, in what could potentially be the last PGA Tour round of his career.

"Probably needed a top-20 finish to keep his confidence up," Ned said. "That's what he'd probably need to keep coming back."

After his disappointing performance on Saturday, the top-20 is currently a pipe dream. Currently, 6-under is what it would take, and Branshaw is mired in a tie for 62nd at even par.

Amateur Thomas shoots sizzling 66 on Saturday

Justin Thomas made a big impact at TPC River Highlands on Friday afternoon - even if it wasn't necessarily all due to his play.

Finishing safely inside the cut line at 2-under, there was no doubt that the amateur would be around for the weekend, even if he wouldn't be cashing a paycheck. 70 players, including Thomas, finished 36 holes at 1-under or better.

With the PGA Tour's standard cut rules allowing for the low 70 and ties to stick around for the weekend, that meant the cut would be 1-under, right?

Wrong. The rules allow for low 70 professionals and ties, meaning that 69 professionals (plus Thomas) finished in red numbers. Therefore, even par was good for a tie for 70th, so the cut fell at even par.

Still, none of the fortunate pros made an effort to thank Thomas for being an amateur.

"I don't think they really know who I am," Thomas said.

But some of them may start to recognize Thomas after his play on Saturday, when he went out early and shot a 4-under 66 that included four consecutive birdies on holes 12 thru 15. The round included six birdies and two bogeys (on holes 4 and 5) for the junior-to-be at Alabama, who dodged questions regarding rumors of turning pro. Rather, Thomas said that he will play a full amateur schedule through July and August in anticipation of this fall's Walker Cup (the amateur version of the Ryder Cup), after playing one more PGA Tour event, the John Deere Classic, in early July.

But if he makes a Sunday run and ends up contending here in Hartford, who knows? Those questions about turning pro might become more and more realistic.

Williams happy to make cut in pro debut

Chris Williams made his pro debut at the Travelers Championship, continuing the long-standing tradition of successful college players and amateurs who chase a paycheck for the first time in Hartford.

The Washington grad admitted that even though it may not have been the best idea in the world, the cut line was certainly on his mind as he played his way down the stretch at TPC River Highlands. With the cut line ultimately falling at even par, but looking like it could be 1-under at times throughout the afternoon, Williams had some ground to cover after an opening 71 had him on the outside looking in.

An early bogey on the short par-3 11th (he started on the 10th) didn't help much for Williams. But he was a high-profile college player for a reason, and he responded with three birdies in the next seven holes to move to 1-under on the week and inside the desired number.

If nerves were in play at all, Williams didn't show it. He calmly made pars for the next nine consecutive holes, making sure he would have a Saturday tee time.

"I thought that 1-under was safe, but you never can be absolutely sure," Williams said. "But they told me in the scoring trailer, just now, that I should be fine."

And indeed he was.

Branshaw makes cut despite Friday struggles

After finishing up his 1-over 71 late Friday afternoon to secure a weekend spot at TPC River Highlands, David Branshaw relaxed near the scoring tent and offered a matter-of-fact summation of his feat.

"We're supposed to make the cut," Branshaw said.

Still, the Oswego native managed an impressive opening two rounds in posting 67-71 at the Travelers Championship, considering he hadn't teed it up on the PGA Tour in six years. A member of the PGA Tour in 2004, 2006 and 2007, Branshaw had only played in one Web.com Tour event this year - missing the cut in Brazil - and one last year, again missing the cut, in Louisiana.

After firing a 3-under round on Thursday, Branshaw had plenty of breathing room inside the cut line, which floated between even and 1-under par for much of the afternoon. The Tampa resident gave it back quickly, however, making bogey on three of his first six holes, including three-putts on the par-5 13th and driveable par-4 15th. Branshaw steadied the ship with a rock-solid approach to inside 5 feet and a birdie on the 18th, in front of a sizable ampitheater-like crowd, and he made the turn right on the cut line for the moment at 1-under.

Accompanied outside the ropes by his father Robert and a friend from growing up, Ned, Branshaw gave the stroke back with a missed 5-footer and subsequent bogey on the dogleg-left par-4 3rd. Throughout the round, Ned referenced his friend's lifelong struggles with the putter, saying that he himself - not the pro - was better with the flatstick.

But Ned did say that Branshaw's mid-iron game was his 'bread-and-butter' throughout his career, and it showed with a beautiful approach from 193 yards on the 4th that never left the flagstick and settled within two feet for a tap-in birdie. Branshaw birdied the par-5 6th from six feet away after a solid wedge shot, and he parred in for a 71 that could have been 67, but also could have very well been a 74.

"When I bogeyed the 15th, I was thinking, 'aw, man, there it goes,'" Branshaw said. "But I held it together."

And Ned, as well, was pleased.

"I just wanted to know what my weekend plans were," he said. "Didn't know until the end, but now I do."

Rose, Bradley solid in round two

Justin Rose and Keegan Bradley came to TPC River Highlands with their games in much different states. Rose was obvioulsy riding a high from his incredibly solid 1-over performance for 72 holes in a win at treacherous Merion, while Bradley was 'bummin' (as he said) from his missed cut while paired with Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker.

But golf is a game that tends to even itself out, and the two stars find themselves positioned similarly on this week's leaderboard through two rounds at TPC River Highlands.

After opening with a very respectable 67 considering his whirlwind last few days, Rose backed it up with a 68 that currently leaves him tied for 8th in Hartford, although afternoon birdies look to bump him out of the top ten as the day goes on. Bradley followed a 69 with a sizzling bogey-free 65 that included five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn, to currently place T6. The Vermont native, playing in his home region for the first time in 2013, estimates that the round could have been a '62 or 63,' but he is at least happy to be playing on the weekend, unlike at Merion.

Both players praised the course conditions in post-round interviews, saying the greens rolled true and that the weather was 'absolutely perfect' for golfing.

Throughout the week, players have made reference to the idea that the course is scoreable for those who are hitting it well but will play tough for those who struggle. So far, the concept has held true, with a host of 65s and 66s appearing on the scoreboard through the first two rounds (and a few lower scores), but some notables struggling mightily. Canadian Mike Weir, after making four consecutive cuts heading into the week, finished his two rounds at 6-over and will be packing his bags. 2009 U.S. Open Lucas Glover struggled mightily and continued his recent downward trend of play, making four bogeys and a double en route to a 74 and 9-over total. Local favorite Brad Faxon, a former champion at TPC River Highlands, just posted a 77 to miss the cut after an encouraging opening round 69. (Note: it's unfair to criticize Faxon, though, as the Champions Tour regular has struggled even on the senior circuit and likely only plays to honor home region nostalgia.)

Rose said he had a late start to his morning today and only had a half hour to warm up as a result. He didn't show it early on, going 3-under through his first ten holes before making a bogey and seven pars the rest of the way. He also made reference post-round to a nice conversation he had this week with 1970 U.S. Open champion Tony Jacklin, who was the last Englishman to win America's national championship prior to Rose.

As it stands now, Rose is five back of leader Bubba Watson, who is in the clubhouse at 10-under after backing up a Thursday 7-under 63 with a Friday 67 (first-round leader Charley Hoffman came undone with a 73, after a 61). Bradley is four back. Hunter Mahan has the best chance to catch or surpass Watson this afternoon, and is on the course at even for the day and 8-under total after two holes.

Branshaw fires 67 in first PGA Tour start in six years

David Branshaw last teed it up on the PGA Tour in 2007, the last time he had status on the big-league circuit. He had status three of four years from 2004 thru 2007, and although there were some highlights (namely a T4 finish at Turning Stone in 2006), he never played well enough to truly make an impact.

After he lost his card in 2007, Branshaw's game slowly faded, and he lost Web.com status after the 2011 season, as he battled an increasing bout of overall golf frustration that he said began in 2010.

Prior to Hartford, Branshaw had made only one Web.com start in 2013, missing the cut in Brazil, along with failing to make it through two Web.com Monday qualifiers and one PGA Tour Monday bid in Tampa.

But this week was different. Encouraged by his love for the Hartford area, where his wife grew up, Branshaw traveled up from his home near Tampa in a bid to enter this week's field. His 2-under 68 in tough, windy conditions was enough to secure one of four spots in the field, and Branshaw prepared to tee it up at TPC River Highlands.

The veteran has been in the world of golf for a long time, so Branshaw said he wasn't even nervous as he headed to the first tee on Thursday. He didn't show any nerves, either - the Oswego, NY native jumped out to 3-under thru seven holes and weathered two mid-round bogeys to post a 3-under 67. He hit 12 of 14 fairways and missed only six greens on the day, 'missing a few putts but making a few, and only missing a few shots,' by his estimation.

After signing his scorecard and lighting a cigarette near the scoring trailer, Branshaw seemed content as he reflected on his last six years. A few tournament-related personnel waved and said hello as they drove by in golf carts, recognizing him and telling him it was good to see him back again. Branshaw played the event all three years he was PGA-Tour exempt, making the cut twice, with a high finish of T21 in 2006.

Branshaw said that he didn't have too much to work on as he prepared for his Friday round, but that he would go to the range and work on tempo for a short time, trying to 'take a little off' and make some less-than-full swings with a few irons.

Branshaw gets his second round underway at 2 p.m. on Friday, in the final group of the day off the 10th tee, with Andres Gonzales and Bobby Gates.

Streb opens well in midst of tough stretch

Robert Streb found an accelerated path to the PGA Tour. After earning Web.com status for the first time in 2012 (he wasn't even fully exempt to start the year), Streb put together a string of high finishes that included a win at the Mylan Classic in September. Streb finished well within the top 25 on the money list and a PGA Tour card was his.

The good vibes continued early in his rookie PGA Tour campaign, as Streb notched top-20 finishes in three of his first seven PGA Tour starts.

But after a while, the grind of the PGA Tour caught up with him. Streb said Thursday that the week-in and week-out demands of the PGA Tour can take a while to adjust to, and his results showed it - six straight missed cuts in April and May, before he finally cashed a check with a T39 effort in Memphis two weeks ago.

Streb said he felt pretty good about his game coming into this week at TPC River Highlands, and his opening-round score backed up his sentiment, as Streb fired a 3-under 67 on Thursday morning that left him in a tie for 18th at day's end.

Streb steadily strung together pars for the first eight holes on Thursday before birdieing 9 and bogeying 10. He then caught fire with birdies on three of his next four holes, then parring out to finish up the solid round.

The Kansas State alum is among the early starters of the afternoon wave on Friday, getting his second round going at 12:10 p.m. If he can post another 67, or better, on Friday, he should be in good position heading into the weekend, as he attempts to notch his first career top-10 finish on the PGA Tour.

Daly keeps driver out of bag at Travelers

After posting a solid 2-under 68 to open his week at TPC River Highlands, John Daly was asked about his strategy for attacking the relatively short par-70 track.

He emphasized one specific: the lack of a driver in his bag.

Known for his grip-it-and-rip-it philosophy over the years in a career that has seen many ups, many downs and two major championships, Daly kept his composure through the opening round on Thursday morning just outside of Hartford. Staying clear of the big numbers that have marked his career, Daly made three birdies and only one bogey, while hitting 10 fairways and 12 greens. Not spectacular, but solid.

Daly also pointed out his enjoyment in coming back to the greater Hartford area, where he had played the event 11 times prior to this week, most recently in 2011, where he finished 72nd. He has made the cut five times in those 11 starts, with his best finish being T21 all the way back in 1997.

Daly ended Thursday tied for 34th, which would mark his best finish on the PGA Tour this season if he could hold it together thru Sunday. After seeing a bit of progress over the last couple of years, Daly's game has regressed in 2013, with a high finish of T50 in ten 2013 PGA Tour starts prior to Hartford. His best round is a 66 in round two at the Byron Nelson tournament in Texas, where he went on to finish T66.

Daly also noted after his round that many pins were tucked near the edges of greens in round one - some just two paces from the edge, in his estimation. But with his first sub-70 opening round of the year on the PGA Tour, and with yet another good-looking girlfriend by his side after the round, he was in good spirits, in no position to complain.

Gove's summer struggles continue in Thursday 73

Coming into this week's Travelers Championship, Jeff Gove had missed four consecutive cuts. He had missed eight of ten of the year, with a high finish of T46. Needless to say, his prospects of keeping his PGA Tour card for 2014 seemed bleak.

That didn't change much on Thursday at TPC River Highlands.

Gove struggled to give himself makeable birdie putts on the sub-6,900-yard par-70 track, not good on a day that saw Charley Hoffman's 61 and Hunter Mahan's 62, and stumbled home with a 3-over 73 that included bogeys on two of his last three holes. With the cut line residing at even par after the first round, and looking like it will fall at 1-under, Gove is in need of a sizzling second round if he wants to end his streak of weekend misses.

Gove didn't drive the ball poorly, but he just had a hard time getting his ball close to the pin. The day was summed up best on the par-5 sixth, his 15th hole of the day. After finding the middle of the fairway with his drive and laying up into a perfect spot 86 yards from the hole, Gove had a chance to stick it close and make birdie to get it back to even par. Instead, his ball flew almost 40 feet past the hole, and he did well just to two-putt for par.

He drove it into the rough on the par-4 seventh and made bogey after hitting his approach into even thicker rough left of the green, and he failed to get up-and-down from just left of the green on the par-3 eighth. The opening 73 left him a distant 12 strokes back of Hoffman.

After the round, Gove was seen at the short game practice area, working on mid-length putting and short chipping. Still, even if he improves a bit on Friday, it may be the all-too-familiar case of too little, too late.

Bruins supporter Bradley grateful for Thursday afternoon tee time

When New England native Keegan Bradley saw that Game 4 of the Bruins-Blackhawks Stanley Cup Finals series would be on Wednesday night, the eve of the Travelers Championship, one simple thought popped into his mind: He hoped that he could play late on Thursday, so he could stay up to watch the game.

Bradley's wish was granted. He tees off Thursday afternoon at 12:50 p.m., on the first hole, with U.S. Open champion Justin Rose and Zach Johnson. The tee time assures that Bradley will rise early on Friday morning, for a 7:40 start off the 10th, but there is no Bruins game on Thursday night. Game 5 in Chicago will be on Saturday at 8 p.m.

"I was so relieved," Bradley said. "I love the games so much; I can't miss them. I'm lucky I'm 12:50 tomorrow; I can stay up and watch the game and sleep in and be totally fine."

So if Bradley makes the cut, he better hope he plays well on Saturday - to assure a not-too-early start on Sunday morning. If the Bruins win tonight, Game 5 would be a chance to win the Cup, and Bradley surely wouldn't want to be in bed for that.

Bradley has struggled of late, missing three of his last five cuts including a MC at the U.S. Open while paired with Phil Mickelson and Steve Stricker for the first two rounds, and he has a missed cut and T29 in his two Travelers starts in 2011 and 2012. Considering these statistics, Bradley does not appear poised for a great week at TPC River Highlands, although his long-ball capability does allow him a lot of wedges into greens on the 6,844-yard par-70 track.

"I try to hit driver as much as I can out here," Bradley said. "You want to make as many birdies as possible. So it gives you room to hit driver, but there's also holes that you just have to lay back and hit like a 2-iron or hybrid off of and wedge in there."

The course has only two par-5s, but the 296-yard par-4 15th allows for eagle possibilities with a well-struck tee shot. Still, the water on the left side of the green can bring bogey into play, Bradley said.

"15, I think every year I've hit 3-wood off that tee," Bradley said. "Some years it's not quite the right club but it puts you right in the front there. I think a lot of guys would take all pars and just walk on. It's a great chance to make three, but you can easily make bogey or worse on that hole."

Rose reflects on emotion down the stretch at Merion

Leading the U.S. Open by a shot headed to the 18th tee, Justin Rose could have easily gotten lost in the moment and failed to keep composure at one of the biggest moments of his golfing life. After 15 years of professional golf - some very good, some not so good - all that remained between him and history was one hole.

And it was't just any hole, it was the brutally tough 18th at Merion, where no birdie was to bad had all weekend long. Not one.

But Rose played the hole as if it was a Tuesday evening at the local muni. Perfect drive down the center. Well-struck 4-iron just over the green, to the back fringe. Chip to inside a foot, and a tap-in for par.

"I felt like I had done enough to win the tournament at that point," Rose said. "But you certainly don't want to overcelebrate...So anything could happen still, especially with Phil. You never know."

Indeed, Phil Mickelson - the birthday boy, the local hero everywhere he goes, the ever-tormented six-time runner-up at the national championship - had a chance to tie Rose and force a Monday playoff if he could go one-under on his final two holes. Mickelson never really gave himself a great shot, though, hitting to 40 feet on the par-3 17th and missing the fairway left on 18.

From the left rough, on a hole that nobody had birdied all weekend, Mickelson fared no better. He came up 40 years short on his approach (not a bad effort under normal circumstances) and went up to the green to survey the elevation as the crowd cheered 'Let's Go Phil' repeatedly. After final analysis, Mickelson made his stroke and ran up to the green to see his fate.

The ball ran by the hole, Mickelson went on to bogey, and Rose had his place among golf's greatest champions.

"Watching your fate or your destiny kind of unfold in front of you on TV, you'd rather be in the last group and win it," said Rose, who watched Phil's birdie bid from the Merion clubhouse. "It's always a strange situation basically needing someone to miss a shot for you to win. It's an awkward moment, but at the same time, say if Phil had pitched in, he showed me that courtesy at the Ryder Cup. If someone pulls out a great shot on you, you just have to take your hat off and say fantastic golf, fantastic shot."

Although Rose enjoyed the moment when he knew that he was officially, no doubt about it, the U.S. Open champion, his most sentimental moment came on the 18th green. After tapping in his 4-incher to finish 72 holes at 1-over, Rose pointed to the sky to honor his late father, Ken, who he credits as one of his biggest advocates and supporters.

The verdict was still in doubt at that point, but Rose figured it was an appropriate time - on one of the grandest stages in golf, on the 72nd green - to give the fitting and well-deserved tribute.

"It was important for me to honor him in that moment," Rose said. "I haven't had a moment in the last 11 years or whatever it's been now to where I could - where there's been a perfect situation to thank him and honor him for all the hard work he put into my game. That was my moment. Win, lose or draw, I felt like I'd acquitted myself well and he'd be proud. That's when I could just look up and thank him."

Well said, Justin. Somewhere, Ken Rose is smiling.

Rose seems tired but jovial, three days removed from Merion triumph

Taking the stage in the TPC River Highlands interview room just three days after winning the U.S. Open at Merion, Justin Rose fielded a wide variety of questions on everything from his emotions after tapping in on 18 to his thoughts on up-and-coming players who could join him as a major winner down the line.

Rose played in a corporate outing on Monday after winning at Merion, before doing a comprehensive media tour through New York City on Tuesday. He said that he enjoyed the hustle-and-bustle for the day, as he conducted numerous interviews and read the top 10 list on the David Letterman show.

Now in Cromwell, CT, just outside Hartford, Rose looks to keep up the good vibes at the second stop on his three-week American swing that will end next week at the AT&T National at Congressional. Rose said knowing he would be playing three consecutive weeks allowed him to loosen up a bit before play commenced at Merion (he didn't arrive until Tuesday evening), and that he looks forward to trying to keep himself in contention three weeks in a row. He has experience playing well in Hartford after the U.S. Open - he followed up a tie for 10th at Oakmont in 2007 (at 11-over!) with a T9 showing at TPC River Highlands.

Rose said he enjoys coming back to Hartford, as he compares the feeling to Hilton Head's laid-back vibe the week after the Masters. Although he didn't play Travelers in 2011 or 2012, he played it seven consecutive years from 2004 to 2010.

So far, this has been Rose's most consistent season on the PGA Tour, with eight top-25 finishes in nine starts, despite a missed cut at The Players Championship in May. He said that although he has been a touring pro for 15 years, he hadn't truly felt 'ready' to win a major until last year, and that he was pleasantly surprised to see the feeling come to fruition so soon.

Although it may be conventional wisdom to think that Rose is too burned out from the Merion hoopla to properly prepare for this week's event, sometime good play can take precedence over meticulous preparation. After all, Phil Mickelson is well-known for his elaborate 'game plans' going into majors, and he has yet to win a U.S. Open despite six runner-up finishes.

And if Rose managed to navigate the venerable Philly track in one-over for 72 holes - thick rough, narrow fairways and all - the smart money says he will be able to string a few birdies together at River Highlands.

Rain, rain, go away

That was quick.

After a few minutes of briefly surveying the scene on the range at TPC River Highlands, the weather horn blew, signaling players to conclude their practice sessions in anticipation of severe weather. I had been talking with fellow Golf Digest/Golf World journalist Jeff Patterson, who was showing me the ropes on how to interview players on the range. Patterson was working on a story for the Golf Digest about the best swing coaches in the game, talking to players to get their opinions.

Plenty of notables and familiar faces were on the range - Andres Gonzales, Mike Weir, Jonas Blixt, to name a few. Didn't get to chance to talk to anyone (the impending storm ruined that), but hopefully I will be able to kick the interviewing into high gear when I return tomorrow.

Before arriving at the range, I checked out the course's noted 15th thru 18th-hole stretch. As a Fred Funk fan growing up, I always closely followed events as TPC River Highlands (Fred always seemed to play them well), and I was impressed by the way the 15th, 16th and 17th are built around a small lake. 17, with water hugging the right side of the fairway and protecting the green in front, cannot be a stress-free hole for players vying for the lead on Sunday afternoon - especially if the wind is blowing.

As I navigated the final four holes, I saw a few players getting some practice in - Jerry Kelly, Robert Allenby, Carl Petterson, Sang Moon Bae - before the rain. I noticed that they weren't really worrying about the hole as they were chipping and putting around the green; they were more focused on playing to spots where they anticipated holes being placed in tournament play.

As I type this, the rain has noticeably started to come down hard above us. This will not be an enjoyable walk to the car.

Kicking off Travelers week

I've graduated to the big leagues.

After a year of traveling across the Midwest to cover Web.com Tour events, I am proud - and a little bit in disbelief - to say that I am typing this from the media room at the Travelers Championship, this week's PGA Tour event just south of Hatrford, CT. I'm here in the media center, in the company of probably about 30 or 40 media folk, straight from the lavish lunch buffet that included a zucchini casserole and high-quality roast beef.

Let me make clear: I have no disrespect for the Web.com Tour. I love the Web.com Tour, and my experience last year was one of the best of my life. Where else can I find a player who offers to let me caddy for him after just three of four interviews (Kevin Johnson)? That sure as heck isn't happening out here on the PGA Tour. Rather than the journeymen out there in the minor league hinterlands, I will be dealing this week with the likes of Justin Rose, last week's U.S. Open at Merion who outlasted Phil Mickelson and a pack of all-stars to claim his first major.

Sure enough, Rose will be in the media center tomorrow at 11 a.m., followed by Rickie Fowler, Keegan Bradley and Hunter Mahan during the afternoon. This week won't carry the highest-quality PGA Tour field (it's a week after a major, after all), but there are some pretty darned good names. Storylines are abundant too, with Mike Weir trying to continue a recent revival after finishing T28 at Merion, Lucas Glover trying to resurrect a rocky season after shooting in the 80s in his second round at the Open, and Vijay Singh likely having to dodge a few more questions about his mysterious use of deer-antler spray - and we still don't really know if it was illegal or not.

Of course, I will be happy to check in with some of my old Web.com friends who I followed across the Great Plains last summer. 2012 Wichita winner Casey Wittenberg is in the field, along with goofy Andres Gonzales - who has made a mess of his 2013 PGA Tour campaign in missing all but one cut. And of course, I hope to check in with the namesake of this entire blog, the guy who got this all started - Jeff Gove.

Just looking through the field gives me plenty of story ideas. John Daly is a story in himself, and he would certainly love a win this week to get his career back on track as he gets ready to try the Champions Tour in a few years. Davis Love III is also approaching his 50th birthday and would like to find a pot of golf under this Travelers rainbow. Lee Westwood could contine his momentum from Merion where he birdied his final four holes to surge into a back door top-15 finish, and cerebral Paul Goydos is looking for a successful return from a long-term injury.

As I exited my car in the media parking lot, I was greeted by a volunteer in a golf cart who offered me a ride to the media center. He graduated from Skidmore College and said he rooted for the 'Cuse while in school (he was there during the 2003 national championship run), and he couldn't have been nicer. Drinsk and snacks are abundant around here, along with viewing TVs and a big screen leaderboard to use once play begins. I also met a guy named Rich from ESPN Radio - I had lunch with him, and we discussed the state of the industry as well as the nature of golf magazines. He knows a lot of people at Golf World (where I now work), and again, he couldn't have been nicer.

So let the week begin - I'm getting ready to head out and explore the course, hopefully getting to meet a few players and fellow media members along the way. Not quite sure what's in store, as always, but it's sure to be a joy of a time.

And hey, Doug Flutie is playing in the pro-am tomorrow. If I got to talk to him...

I'd be done.

Day seems happy to be back on Tour, records top-ten finish

When asked at last summer's Web.com event in Indiana about the differences between playing on the PGA Tour and the minor-league circuit, Glen Day did not hesitate in giving a blunt answer. He admitted that it's difficult to find motivation to compete on the Web.com circuit week in and week out, for a player who is used to the higher-echelon lifestyle that is the PGA Tour.

These days, Day is relegated to past champion status on the PGA Tour, which means that his starts are few and far between. This week's event in Tennessee, the FedEx St. Jude Classic, was one of those rare opportunities. And he made the most of it.

Day opened the week strong with a 4-under 66 on Thursday and held steady throughout the weekend, handling a steady wind and tricky conditions at TPC Southwind to post a four-day total of 5-under par, good for a tie for 10th. The effort marks Day's first top-ten finish since 2008, when he tied for 8th at the RBC Canadian Open, and it gives him entry into the PGA Tour's next open event, at the Travelers Championship in Hartford in two weeks.

After his opening 66, Day leveled out with a pair of even-par 70s on Friday and Saturday, leaving the Oklahoma alum in a tie for 18th heading into Sunday. He showed no jitters at the start of the final round, birdieing two of his first three holes and turning in 1-under 34. A 36-footer for birdie on 11 served as the highlight to a solid if not spectacular back nine, and an impressive bunker save from nearly 30 yards on the long and demanding par-4 18th preserved the top-ten finish.

The event was only Day's second of the year on the PGA Tour, with the first being a T83 showing at the Heritage back in April. He has played five Web.com events so far, making only one cut, a T47 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina.

Glen Day, recording a top-ten in his second PGA Tour outing of the season, after failing to notch a top-40 in any minor-league event in 2013. Yet another example of the fine line between the two tours, where essentially any Web.com pro can step into a PGA Tour field and make an impact.

Or maybe, it proves Day's sentiment that it's a lot easier to get excited for an event when the purses are large and the crowds more excitable.

Peterson hanging around cut line at Augusta

Last year's T4 effort at the U.S. Open at Olympic brought John Peterson a lot of things - confidence, recognition, a paycheck for over $276,000. Considering his lack of status at the time, on any tour, the paycheck may have been the most crucial.

Now a member of the Web.com Tour, Peterson enjoys a break from minor league action this week to take advantage of another of his U.S. Open perks. Based on his fourth-place finish at Olympic, Peterson earned a spot in this year's Masters, after making the cut in all four of his Web.com starts so far this year.

Peterson demonstrated no severe lack of Augusta knowledge in his opening round, birdieing two par-5's and compiling 15 pars en route to a 1-under 71 that left him safely inside the cut line.

Friday was not as fortunate for the former LSU star, however. Peterson struggled in the morning's windy conditions, double-bogeying the 7th as part of a 4-over 40 on the front nine and limping in with a 77. Barring a very strong finish by Tiger Woods or another of the players high on the leaderboard, though, Peterson should find himself around for the weekend. All players within 10 shots of the lead after two rounds are invited to compete on the weekend at the Masters, and the lead is currently 5-under as Friday play winds down (Peterson is 4-over).

Far removed from PGA Tour days, Wetterich struggles in Texas

When I caddied for Brett Wetterich last summer (albeit for four holes) at the United Leasing Championship, the former Ryder Cupper appeared to be in an interesting state of mind. The talent that brought him over $3 million in PGA Tour earnings in the 2006 season was there, sure. But the mental toughness - the desire to work hard, the strive for constant improvement - didn't seem to be there.

This week at the Web.com Tour's WNB Golf Classic in Midland, TX, another example of this potential apathy has came to light. Wetterich opened with a 6-over 78 and followed up with a 1-over front nine on Friday.

At the turn, Wetterich apparently had had enough. He withdrew from the event.

The WNB was only the second start of the year for Wetterich, who opened the season strong with a third-place finish at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open, where he closed with a 65 and earned over $37,000. He chose not to travel to Brazil for last week's event, where he would have gained entry into the field based on his top-25 finish in Louisiana, but was able to tee it up in Texas due to standing as a former exempt PGA Tour member, according to the Tour's website.

Last year, Wetterich made three of seven PGA Tour cuts, with a top finish of T21 at the Reno-Tahoe Open. He made 15 Web.com starts, making seven cuts and finishing tied for 4th at this same event in Midland, which took place in late September.

When I talked to Wetterich's sister last summer in Indiana, she expressed concern that her brother would rather be hunting or fishing than playing golf, a desire that hindered his motivation to get his game back in order. He did finish the Web.com season fairly well in 2012, making five of his last six cuts with two top-15 finishes, but his $44,365 in earnings was short of the amount he needed to retain full exemption.

Seven years ago, Wetterich had a dream PGA Tour season, notching six top-tens and winning the Byron Nelson Championship to surge into the worldwide golf consciousness. Five years ago this week, Wetterich could be seen at Augusta National, playing the Masters alongside golf's biggest names.

Now? He's walking off the course at a Web.com event in Midland, TX, seven-over par through 27 holes and nowhere near the cut line.

Golf's a funny game.

Johnson makes cut in season debut, ready to make a run

After being shut out of Web.com Tour play through the first part of the season (aside from declining a spot in Chile's event a few weeks ago), Kevin Johnson knew that it was important to capitalize on his entry into last week's Brasil Classic.

The 45-year-old delivered. Johnson burst out of the gate with four birdies in his first ten holes on Thursday and played steady enough golf the rest of the way to easily make the cut at 4-under. A 69-71 effort on the weekend left him with a solid, if not spectacular, T37 effort that gives him at least a fighting chance to enter more fields as the summer wears on.

"I should be getting in more after the shuffle before BMW in a few weeks," KJ said. "Hopefully get on a roll after that."

As the Tour periodically reshuffles players based on season earnings, conditionally exempt players such as KJ know the importance of making cuts when they have the opportunity. Without cashing a paycheck, a player has no spot on the reshuffle. This is the problem Jeff Brehaut ran into last year when his reshuffle number was never high enough for him to enter a field - he made the cut on a sponsor exemption in Wichita, but finished T51 and the June event occurred too late in the year for Brehaut's earnings to help him out too much.

As KJ told me, the next reshuffle will occur before the BMW Charity Pro-Am in South Carolina in mid-May, with this week's WNB Classic along with two Georgia events standing in the way. A top-25 finish in Brazil would have granted KJ automatic entry into the WNB, and he began the final round a shot behind at T26, but he never really generated momentum in a final-round 71 that pushed him 11 spots back.

With a large field spread across three courses, KJ has a fighting chance to gain entry into the BMW, but nothing is for certain. All he knows is that he needs to take advantage of playing opportunities when he has them: make cuts, get top-25's if possible, and know that every shot (and every accompanying dollar) is important.

At the very least, his $3,179 paycheck in Brazil puts him in the conversation.

Gove turns in solid week in Texas

Jeff Gove has been struggling this year to achieve the one elementary aspect of a successful season: making cuts.

At last week's Valero Texas Open, Gove went about changing that.

Struggling to make it into fields after missing a string of cuts to begin the year, the veteran finally made a cut last month in Puerto Rico's opposite-field event the week of Doral before patiently waiting for another opportunity. It came at the Valero, where Gove made the cut and closed strong with a 2-under 70 to turn in a T46 effort.

For his 71-73-75-70 week, Gove earned $16,580, his largest paycheck of the year after collecting $7,700 in Puerto Rico.

Now at No. 196 on the money list after beginning the week at No. 210, Gove has at least a fighting chance to gain entry into more fields once the next reshuffle hits. The late spring and summer months are usually easier for entry, as fields are larger and some of the more affluent players choose to take weeks off to spend with their families. Gove has no such luxury if he wishes to keep his card for next year, and he will have to play whenever he can.

This being Masters week, many lower-ranking PGA Tour players have decided to enter the field in the Web.com Tour's WNB Golf Classic, but Gove has elected to take the week off from tournament play. He is unlikely to make it into next week's RBC Heritage, the popular post-Masters event with a compressed field at Hilton Head's Harbour Town Golf Links.

Late in his round on Friday, Gove was in danger of missing the cut (which ultimately fell at 1-over) after shooting 2-over on the front nine to fall to 1-over on the week. A bogey on the 12th meant that he would have to play under-par golf the rest of the way to stick around, and he responded with an eagle on the par-5 14th and parred in to fall safely inside the cut line.

Return to action for a couple of veterans

When the field was released for the Valero Texas Open, now the PGA Tour's tune-up for the Masters, Jeff Gove's name was there. Gove has struggled to make it into fields this week due to his lack of earnings to start the year, and he is getting to the point where he needs to take advantage of his opportunities if he wishes to stick around later in the year.

Gove did play in and make the cut in last month's Puerto Rico Open, an opposite-field event to the World Golf Championship event at Doral, but this is his first start in the Tour's 'premier' event for the week since early February in Pebble Beach. In Puerto Rico, Gove easily made the cut thanks to a sizzling 65 in the second round, but leveled off with a pair of 71's on a low-scoring weekend to finish in a tie for 57th.

Aside from Gove, Kevin Johnson will make his first start of the year this week on the Web.com circuit, in the Tour's event in Brazil. KJ was in the field in Chile but withdrew early in the week, likely not feeling that the lengthy trip would be worth it. As of now, he appears ready to tee it up in Brazil, with a 7:10 a.m. (local time) tee time on Thursday with Andrew Putnam and Joe Bramlett.

Streb in conversation at Honda

As a Web.com Tour rookie last season, Robert Streb quickly proved that he had what it takes to compete as a professional golfer. The former Kansas State standout notched a few top-five finishes early to position himself well for a finish in the top 25, and won the Mylan Classic in November to essentially stamp his PGA Tour card.

Now he's out on the big tour, and looking for more.

Streb opened this week's Honda Classic near Palm Beach with rounds of 65 and 70, easily inside the two-day cut line and only four strokes back of leader Luke Guthrie, yet another Web.com graduate from last season. Both find themselves well ahead of notables such as Tiger Woods, who is currently 1-under for the week with six holes to play in his second round.

Streb quickly asserted himself on the Web.com circuit last year as a reliable ball-striker who kept an even keel most of the time, with a game that looked apt to translate well to the big leagues. He backed up these assertions in his second PGA Tour event, a T16 effort at the Humana Challenge in January, but has missed his last three cuts to drift behind on the money list.

But Streb immediately showed that this weke would be different, opening the Honda with a 5-under 65 that was bested only by Camilo Villegas - who imploded on Friday with a 77 that leaves him a shot behind the cut line. (Note: A first-round leader missing the cut? Not something you see every day, or even every year.)

Streb showed no such implosion on Friday, with a steady-as-she-goes three-birdie, three-bogey effort that included birdies on the par-3 15th and 17th holes that make up two thirds of the famous Bear Trap.

Currently T11 as Friday play winds down, Streb will have himself an afternoon tee time as he kicks off weekend play. He certainly is within shouting distance of contention and the lead, but a better goal might be simply to finish the week in a similar position to where he is now.

In an event with big names like Woods, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood and the like, Streb should find no complaints with his position after two days of play. As a PGA Tour rookie, he is near the top of the leaderboard in an event that boasts many of the biggest names in worldwide golf.

And if he starts well on Saturday, the nation might begin to learn a little more about Robert Streb.

Web.com season underway in Panama

It's here.

The 2013 edition of the Web.com is underway, with a full field kicking it off today in the Panama Claro Championship, as part of the Tour's Central America swing. This marks the first full year of the Web.com sponsorship, after Nationwide Insurance's ten-year run came to an end last summer.

But more importantly, it marks the first season of the Tour's new structural changes that will affect how players qualify for the PGA Tour. At the end of the regular season, the top 75 players on the Web.com money list will compete alongside No. 126-200 on this year's PGA Tour money list in a playoff series where the top 25 performers achieve PGA Tour status for next season. The top 25 on the money list as the end of the regular season will be assured PGA Tour status, keeping in line with past structure, but positioning for tournament fields will be determined in the playoffs.

So, the PGA Tour wants to increase the importance of the Web.com Tour. Q-School is no longer a possible path to the big leagues, and all aspiring PGA Tour pros are now forced to go through the Triple-A circuit. In time, we will see if this draws heightened interest of Web.com events and greater crowds. For now, we don't have much of an idea.

In Panama, Mark Anderson has jumped out of the gate, posting a morning 6-under 64 that included six birdies in his first seven holes. Rookie Andrew Loupe, who has three top-25 finishes in six prior Web.com starts, matched Anderson at 64.

Peter Tomasulo and James Nitties are a shot back after morning 65s. Tomasulo's effort was bogey-free.

Long way to go, though. Today, this week - and this season.

Gove returns to action at Pebble

For many PGA Tour pros, Pebble Beach serves as a reminder of all that is right with the game of golf. From the famed short par-3 7th pointed directly at the ocean, to the memorable 18th with the ocean hugging the left side of the entire fairway, there is no shortage of memorable scenes and moments.

An occasional U.S. Open track, Pebble welcomes the PGA Tour contingency every February for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which gets underway tomorrow. The event always draws a memorable field, and this year is no exception, led by last week's wire-to-wire winner Phil Mickelson.

Jeff Gove may not have enjoyed the scenery as much as he would have liked as he played his practice rounds. After failing to make it into last week's field, Gove is back, albeit on the heels of three straight missed cuts to open the season. Gove talked over the winter about the importance of starting the season on the right foot, and he has been far from that to this point.

With a full 156-man field at Pebble, the task doesn't get much easier. The event utilizes an unique three-course rotation system, with Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Golf Links joining Pebble in the three-day rota before a cut is made on Saturday night. All courses play less than 7,000 yards, but the damp winter air, selection of tight doglegs and traditionally wet conditions keep bombers from having a heyday.

The good news for Gove is that he will have at least three days to test his game, as opposed to the usual two before the cut. But if he continues to struggle, he won't be around for Sunday, and the wait for his first check of the season will continue.

Gove gets Pebble first, teeing off at 8:11 on Thursday morning with Matt Every.